The 1983 NFL Draft: The Day the Quarterback Won the Standoff

The 1983 NFL Draft is widely considered the most talented class in league history, but on April 26, 1983, it wasn’t the talent that grabbed the headlines—it was a high-stakes game of chicken. When the Baltimore Colts called the name of the most touted prospect in a generation, they didn’t just start a clock; they started a war of words that would change the trajectory of two franchises forever.

Draft Storyline

On April 26, 1983, the famous 1983 NFL Draft took place, with Stanford University quarterback John Elway selected first by the Baltimore Colts. This set up the Newspaper.com Football History Headline, top billing by the Associated Press the following day in the Easton, Maryland Star-Democrat, as it read “Elway’s Vow Not to Play for Colts Ignored.”

The Colts were unable to work out a deal with their player of choice prior to the Draft, allegedly turned down multiple trade offers for the spot, and still chose Elway. Touted as the best quarterback prospect since Joe Namath, Elway turned around after the pick to announce he would forgo the NFL and sign a lucrative baseball contract with the New York Yankees. The former Stanford signal-caller noted, however, that he would change his mind if a team traded him to the West Coast. Elway made it no secret that he did not want to play for Baltimore.

The article goes on to quote the QB as saying, “I don’t want to be a jerk, but I told Mr. Kush, you’ve been offered three ones and a quarterback and now you have nothing.” Then he hung up the phone. The Mr. Kush he was referring to was Colts’ then head coach Frank Kush. SMU running back Eric Dickerson was the second overall pick by the Los Angeles Rams, and Curt Warner, another back from Penn State, went third to the Seahawks.

The article gave Elway three options: sit out a year and enter the 1984 draft, play professional baseball for the Yankees, or accept a trade to the Cowboys or a West Coast team. The Colts kept trying to work out a deal with Elway, and finally, on May 2nd, over a week after the Draft, this headline appeared in the St. Joseph News-Press via the New York Times News Service: “Colts send Elway to Broncos.” Next week, in our May 2 edition, we will go more in-depth on the rest of this story.

Conclusion

The 1983 draft serves as a landmark moment in “gridiron lore,” proving that sometimes the most significant action happens off the field. By leveraging his talent on the baseball diamond and his desire for the West Coast, John Elway orchestrated a move that would eventually lead to two Super Bowl championships in Denver. It remains the ultimate example of a prospect holding the cards against the league’s established order.

Complete List of Players in the NFL Draft

While teams selected hundreds of players over 12 rounds in 1983, the first round remains the gold standard for talent. Here are the picks per Pro-Football-Reference.com that defined that historic day: